


Fate Placed

by MaskedNightingale



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Ancient magic, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Different Dimensions, Dopplegangers, Eileen Snape is a healer, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fairy Ring, Fates intervene, Gen, Lily Evans Potter Lives, Lily Evans Potter has a twin, Lily Evans Potters Twin is Named After Her Sister but is a different person, Magical Accidents, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Missions Gone Wrong, Mistaken Identity, Portals, Rituals Gone Wrong, Time Travel Fix-It, Timey-Wimey, accidental magic, wibbly-wobbly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26464609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskedNightingale/pseuds/MaskedNightingale
Summary: Lily J Evans-Potter had a fail-safe in the event of her untimely death. However, once the ritual is activated the night of her 'death' instead of sending her back in time to the days of her youth it sends someone else and she takes their place.The Fates intervened and decided to send back the other Lily Evans back in time, after all she met the perimeters she had fore-knowledge of the events of the Wizarding World and she would not make the same mistakes her sister had made.
Relationships: Severus Snape & Lily Evans, Severus Snape & Original Female Character(s), Tom Riddle & Lily Evans, Tom Riddle & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26





	1. Fail-safes

Lily Jean Evans-Potter looked into the teacup barely registering her face’s reflection flickering over the surface. 

_How had things gone so wrong?_

She placed her elbows upon the table in front of her and placed her head in her hands, wishing she had more tears to shed but she felt all dried out. Hollow. 

Her emerald eyes glanced across the way at the chatting couple who stood far enough away to give her privacy but close enough to help her if she were to collapse again. 

They had been so kind, despite her rudeness when she’d arrived unexpected. 

The ritual had been simple. Lily shook her head, her crimson curls falling on either side of her face, far too simple and far too easy. Nothing in the Wizarding World had ever come to her that easily before why did she think it would this time. An ache that started in her chest and seemed to radiate to her bones spoke for her: because she had been desperate. 

Now she’d lost everything, she was a widow (she knew that before she had enacted the final steps of the fail-safe) but now she would never see her baby boy again. A dry sob shook her shoulders as she realized he would perhaps never exist after what she had done. 

She was supposed to go back and fix things. Her mind went back to those moments right as Voldemort sent the killing curse her way, she whispered ‘I love you’ to little Harry before she vanished into thin air thanks to the failsafe. However, she wasn’t brought back to her childhood instead she found herself in a room that was filled with books. 

She had passed out due to the magical exhaustion but was awoken to a gentle shake and kind eyes peering down upon her. 

“Lily, darling? Did you fall asleep in the shop again?” The woman was unfamiliar with dark hair and slanted piercing but still oddly gentle brown eyes. 

A man came up and crouched beside the woman and reached forward to touch her forehead but Lily flinched. 

“Lily, what’s wrong?” He offered his hand only calloused where someone would hold a wand or a pen for too long. “Perhaps we should check you for a fever.” 

“Who are you? Where am I?” 

Both man and woman looked at each other. The man spoke, “So it has happened again.” 

The woman spoke her voice was sad but ever so gentle as if approaching an injured animal, “Were you supposed to be somewhere else perhaps some time else but are here instead?” 

Lily’s eyes widened, before she jumped up but her body was still weak causing her to sway and the woman to catch her before she collapsed, “I can’t be here! I have to go back!”

The man spoke, “I’m afraid that’s impossible Lily Evans-Potter. In your timeline you were hit by the killing curse, ending your course in that time.” 

She tensed as he first spoke her full name and then to the revelation of what he said. However, he continued. 

“The Fates have already chosen to send back our daughter, your twin, instead. Now it’s her turn.” 


	2. Not the Right Evans'

The first thing Lily Luna Evans noticed when she woke up was she felt like she was trapped in some scratchy blankets. It was kind of like the feeling she’d have when she would roll herself in her giant ‘fluff tortilla’ also known as her down comforter until she was burrito shaped. However, this was not comforting like that, her arms felt weak and she couldn’t lift them and as she tried to do the worm out of the covers she seemed to fail horribly. 

She felt her lips try to pull down in a frown but even her face felt weird. It was then she realized her eyes were closed so she blinked them open and found she had a weird cage-like structure surrounding her, made of wood. 

Thankfully she heard some voices and felt relief flood through her, perhaps one of her brothers and sisters or parents were going to come upon her and help her out of this strange situation. 

The sound of a door opening and then a sentence that both excited Lily and confused her greatly, “Here Mr and Mrs Evans, here’s your baby girl.” 

Then suddenly there were giants over her and she could feel her eyes widen, which caused many ‘aws’ to happen from the ‘Mr and Mrs Evans’ who were not her parents. Then one of the giant’s was picking her up, and with surmounting horror Lily realized with a cry she was an actual baby. 

\---------

The days following rushed by with many humiliating circumstances, that made Lily sure that whatever had put her there had some sick sense of humor. 

Then the day came for the Mr. and Mrs Evans she met the first time arriving wherever she was to take her to their home. 

As cooing back and making cute faces did provide her nicer blankets in return Lily had degraded herself in order to have such niceties that the orphanage she’d been at before did not provide. 

So she giggled and smiled as Mrs Evans brought her into their new home before it all seemed to stop again as Mr. Evan’s called out, “Petunia, come and meet your new sister.” 

All Lily could think at that moment was ‘Crap’ as everything started to fall into place; after all the book that ‘sent’ her here had been J.K. Rowling’s first. If she could have laughed out loud in that moment she would have, somehow she had replaced the real Lily Evans….or was there ever really a Real Lily Evans could it all be just subjective. Her parents would tell all their children that time was relative and subject to change. Her parents with their strange secrets but kind eyes and good advice and warm hugs. 

Lily Luna Evans had no desire to follow in the footsteps of the Gryffindor Lily Evans, for she knew she was first and foremost a Ravenclaw (sometimes a Slytherclaw).

She would not abandon a friend in need, or be a hypocrite when it came to forgiveness. No, Lily Luna would not be like the Lily Evans in canon. 

Thus, Lily Luna began her planning. First, she would make sure that Petunia was well loved. The parents no doubt got a second daughter so that she could have someone around her age, so the focus needed to stay on Petunia. 

In the future when Lily would get invited to Hogwarts for yes she could feel the magic even now...it was odd for there was always something strange about her back home too. Couldn’t be around electronic devices without them breaking or literally exploding (a couple times), static electricity seemed to follow her everywhere and she felt electric all the time like there was something thrumming in her bones. She couldn’t have caffeine without it worsening. Now though it was if the world she was in recognized her for what she was and her body was calmer, still her bones seemed thrum but on a much lower intensity...of course she supposed that could be due to the fact she was in such a tiny body right now. She had to make sure that her home relations wouldn’t be too affected by her new private school when she turned eleven. It would take effort but she was determined; and if they still were then at least she tried and she would let them go as they weren’t hers anyways.

Large grey eyes suddenly eclipsed Lily’s vision and she re-focused on the face leaning over her. The face was oval in shape with small lips and a thin nose. Petunia was probably no more than three. 

“Hi, baby.” 

“We decided to name her after a flower like we did with you.” Her father bent next to the chair his wife was holding little Lily in and Petunia looked from her father to her mother. 

“What flower?”

Her mother smiled, “We decided on yours and my favorite, Lily.” 

The little girl’s face lit up, “Lily!” 

“Not so loud, you don’t want to hurt the baby’s ears.” Her father spoke sternly. 

Petunia looked over at Lily, her little lips pouting and Lily went in for the biggest smile she could muster with her tiny face muscles while reaching out a little hand to Petunia. 

Mrs. Evan’s smiled at seeing their newest addition warming up to her daughter so quickly, “She wants to hold your hand, Petunia.” 

Lily watched as the three year old grasped onto her tiny little infant hand and knew she would be able to work with this.


	3. In Which Someone Had Already Taken a Hammer to Canon

It wasn’t until Lily Luna turned three herself, that things started to get a little more difficult. Not that the other two years were a cake walk but still. 

Her hair was growing and with it her magic, and she found herself oddly very protective of it so much so that when Mrs. Evans one time cut it despite her wishes Lily ended up bawling all night long. It was physically painful. 

As Lily grieved that night there was an odd spattering of lightning storms throughout the English suburb.

Nothing in canon and even really fanfictions had prepared her for this. She remembered vaguely something about some mythology behind the power in hair and how it was sacred. There were a couple of fanfictions she remembered reading that had pureblood cultures with some sort of traditions with hair but she couldn’t remember what they were. 

The next morning Lily convinced Mrs Evans she wanted to keep her hair long and only get it cut for ‘split-ends’. Since it was the weekend, the girls got to pick an activity to do and Petunia had picked last week so Lily got to pick that week. 

“The Library” was her answer. Petunia wasn’t the happiest with that answer but was soon content listening to a tale of a princess who went on adventures in the kid section. Lily slipped away carefully, grateful for her height that made her look slightly older than her age, as she searched the tall columns for the philosophy section. She hoped there she might find something. 

However when she got to the Philosophy section someone was already kneeling there, a man with midnight black hair. She hid behind a cart full of books waiting for him to pass on his way, her hair sat protectively on top of her head in a bun as if hiding from the scissors that had been in Mrs Evans hands just the other day. 

“You can come out, I won’t bite.” A dark chuckle, “Usually.” The last word was low and almost hiss-like, so much so that Lily’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

However, she worried if she didn’t come out he’d come to her and she’d rather have things on her terms so she came out and strode over to find he’d stood. She held back a sigh and let none of her emotions show on her face as she peered up at him, before glancing towards the bookshelf while keeping him in her peripherals. Problem was he was so tall that she could only see the movement of his knees from where her eyeline was. It was frustrating to be so small. 

“A quiet little mouse, aren’t you?” 

Lily breathed through her nose and kept her emotions in check. She glanced up at him and was met by fathomless blue eyes. Another check mark toward the oddly close to someone she really shouldn’t be talking to but then would be bad to ignore. 

“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” A typical response would have to do, but as she looked through the books on the shelf she found only one book on the Salem Witch trials that she greatly doubted would have anything of value. 

Her fingers drifted away from the bookcase and was about to turn around when a book title caught her eye. 

Then completely forgetting about the potentially dangerous onlooker she had, her inner Ravenclaw shone bright as she let out a delighted gasp and grabbed the book that had been sandwiched between two books on Christianity in the early 13th century. 

"The Modern Mage: A Guide" seemed to be just what Lily was looking for, perhaps too perfectly suited.

However, it was when she opened the cover that she truly realized something was wrong. It didn’t have any barcode or identification of the library on it. 

Once again before she could stop herself her eyes were shooting up to meet dangerous blue. 

“No one will see it but you and me. Now we are no longer strangers.” His smile was truly dangerous and sharp like a viper’s. 

Lily held back with everything she had a shiver that threatened to run through her, how had he known she would be here. Was he just aimlessly wandering around randomly for signs of accidental magic to start a legion of baby….Lily closed her eyes, “I can’t accept this.” 

He just stared and his hands stayed in his suit pockets. He was wearing a mundane business suit. Weird. Lily shook her head. 

“I don’t know you and frankly this has been kind of creepy. Good day, mister.” 

She placed the book on the ground trying not to look too longingly at it, before backing up, keeping him in her sights until she could see other people and went to seek out Petunia. 

  
  


Lily had convinced herself after several weeks passed that she had been wrong. 

The man at the library wasn’t some dark lord. He was just some creepy dude.

It was better than the idea that he could have been inside her mind the whole time their eyes met, at least Lily thought that’s how Legilimency worked. 

Lily wasn’t sure anymore. She was sure there would be some word in canon if Mr Lord Darkness had tried to recruit the Chosen One’s mom at one point in the past. 

Not that any of that was going to happen now, which made Lily wonder without the prophecy did that mean the dude would continue a mostly political approach. Either way she had decided she would start building her own ‘Mind Palace’ like Sherlock with fortified walls to protect her mind from invasion and what better place but her true home. The Portals bookshop and the townhouse above it had been her sanctuary before the madness that was her life now. She knew her way through the bookshop like the back of her hand so she would need to just sort through her memories. 

Then Mr Evan’s called home one afternoon to see if Mrs Evan’s would be able to have another seat available for dinner that night. 

Mrs Evans, or Joanne, was a vibrant woman that loved to surround herself with good conversation and people so she immediately said she would make sure they had a lovely dinner ready for their guest. 

Petunia had asked if the guest had kids, which Mrs Evan’s had responded to the negative while Lily sat on the sofa with the book Petunia had abandoned on her lap. 

She had Petunia ‘teach’ her to read, after all the Wizarding World did not look at the grades of the mundane at all so Lily decided despite it being boring she would keep to the normal curriculum of one her ‘age’. Petunia was ever so proud to be the one to teach her sister to read and had mentioned on numerous occasions that her teacher’s were impressed at school too. 

What the Evans' household didn’t know was that Lily would often find herself coming down when everyone was asleep. She would read through Mrs Evans' past medical texts from when she was a nurse or read Mr Evans' interesting archives on statistics and the like. Lily was determined to keep her mind growing and learning and refused to grow stagnant. 

Something that Lily wondered day by day was why hadn’t she met Severus yet. She would have Mrs Evan’s taking her to the park often however she never came across the dark boy. 

  
  


Lily soon found herself sitting at the table in her booster seat. Petunia sat beside her asking questions non-stop about their strange visitor. 

Suddenly tingles went down Lily's spine and she could feel the static in her hair rise and the thrumming in her bones grow louder. Magic was in the air, magic that wasn’t hers but magic she seemed to recognize. A heavy stone seemed to drop in her stomach and she stared at her lap suddenly terrified. She wished she had her hair up tonight, but it was too late as she heard the steps of Mr Evans and the more silent and perhaps even elegant steps of the other. 

She heard as Mrs Evans stood and greeted her husband before Mr Evan’s spoke up, “Joanne, I’d like you to meet the new client I spoke to you about a couple of weeks ago; Mr Thomas Riddle.” 

Lily could only curse in her mind and have her small hands clenched into fists in her lap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. What the hell. Why was he following her. Actually stalking was a better word for it. Like why. She was three right now. She had been very careful with her magic. She had been meditating since she was a baby and was in control, the only time she felt a fluctuation was that night after Mrs Evans cut her hair. But it couldn’t have been powerful enough to draw him in right? Unless he was already close by because of...was that the reason she hadn’t seen the young boy? If so things were already way off canon without her putting her foot in it, which meant someone else had right? But who? 


	4. A Timeless Riddle

He had been waiting years for a sign and at last it had come. 

The lightning storms all centered around one particular neighborhood. 

Then he had just to wait and see what she’d do next. He followed her to the library and situated himself right where he thought she’d go. 

He could feel her power radiating from across the other side of the building, he smirked as she hid behind the cart to wait him out. 

She did come out after he prompted her. 

His next thought was how tiny she was, why was she always so tiny. All this time and she was still tiny.

He could see that she already had suspicions of who he was but she was smart. She kept her eye on him and spoke only when necessary. 

‘Good girl’ was just a whisper away from coming off his lips when she finally left his side after rejecting his gift. It wouldn’t be long after all that they wouldn’t be strangers anymore. 

  
  


After three weeks of not seeing the ‘little mouse’ he at last saw her again, this time he let her feel his magic and he smiled as he felt her magic greet him in turn. She may be wary of him but her magic was not. 

After being introduced to the wife of his new ‘investor’ he was then introduced to the children. 

The man turned toward the children gesturing to a pale child with permanently puckered lips, “This is my eldest, Petunia.” 

“Hello Petunia.” Out from his pocket Thom pulled out the gifts he’d prepared for each child, “I wished to give you something in turn for the time I’ve borrowed your father over the last couple of weeks.” 

Mr Evans slapped his back and Thomas winced at the movement and touch. 

Petunia was already tearing through her present, despite her mother’s scolding while Mr Evan’s turned back toward the other child, “This is our youngest, Lily. Lily, could you raise your head and say hello? I know your shy dear, but Mr. Riddle’s nice.” 

He chuckled, “I believe we already met actually in the Philosophy section at the Library.” 

He withheld his smirk as the whole family turned wide eyes toward Lily who finally looked up from her lap this time her eyes were lit from within with an emerald fire but her voice was soft and polite, “I got lost is all.” 

He leaned forward, the smirk coming to his lips, “I was sure you were looking for something in the bookcase.” 

His grin widened as her stare turned into a full-blown glare, barely restraining himself from chuckling. 

Mrs. Evan’s spoke up, “You must be mistaken, Mr. Riddle. Our Lily is only 3. She probably didn’t realize where she was.”

“I suppose you are right, Mrs. Evans.” He shrugged, before placing a wrapped book shaped gift beside Lily’s plate. 

Lily looked at it for a long moment, he could practically hear the words she was thinking without having to peer into her mind. She finally let out a little sigh, before looking up at him. “Thank you, Mr. Riddle.” 

\---------

He stared across the street at the little house and let out a long breath. He had already spent eons of time waiting so he could do some more. 

He tilted his head back and viewed the full moon above, “I will not separate them anymore.” 


	5. Made of Sunshine

The girl wasn’t what Severus expected. Of course he wasn’t sure what to expect. 

...

One moment his life had been dreary and without hope, the next the man came and things changed. 

His father changed, but Severus knew it wasn’t because he wanted to change. Even at the young age of four he saw the slightly milky residue of magic in his father’s eyes. He knew it was the man...no.. the wizard’s magic that had caused his father to become an automaton rather than remaining an angry violent human. 

Things slowly got better, as his father’s money from his job was not spent on the drink that made him angry but actual food both Severus and his mother started to fill out once more. 

Then the wizard visited again this time his mother gasped as the man kneeled before Severus so he could look him straight in the eye. 

“My lord…” 

The wizard raised his hand and shook his head and Severus’s mother quieted even as Severus shrunk back on instinct. 

“Young Severus, I have a task for you.” 

Severus looked up at his mother that still looked wide eyed but looked at him with reassurance and a firm nod. He turned back to the strange wizard and nodded. 

“There will be a girl you’ll meet soon.” The wizard paused as if carefully crafting his words, “She will tell you a secret one day. Even if you do not believe it, you must guard it with your life.” 

Severus looked into the eyes of the wizard he now knew to be Lord Slytherin. His mother told him about the great wizard the night after he first came, about how he had to be given the utmost respect and that his commands were to be always obeyed without question. 

“What is she like?” 

Then the stoic wizard almost seemed to lighten, it was a strange thing indeed. His magic was dark and deep swirling around him like a cluster of galaxies. However at the further mention of the girl the stars within them seemed to sparkle.

Lord Slytherin leaned forward and whispered conspiratively so that only Severus could hear, “Her magic feels like sunlight when she is happy and like lightning when she is excited or overwhelmed by something.” 

The wizard’s visit was only several days before Severus finally saw the girl. 

The girl that radiated sunlight. 

She was laying out in one of the meadows behind the park in his neighborhood. Her crimson hair spread out like a halo around her head soaking in the sun’s light and the grass beneath her seemed to reach up toward her and her magic. Her eyes were closed, but it was as if she sensed him near her. Sensed that he was drawn to her magic.

“You can touch it, if you like. Just don’t take a piece. Mrs Evans cut my hair once and I…” She drifted off as if she heard Severus shift nervously as he sat a foot away from her. Still wary, not sure what to do with the girl he had been told he would meet. 

He gasped when she opened one eye lid and he saw a glimpse of green only seen in gemstones and certain dark spells. 

He watched as her lips twitched as she seemed to fight a smile, he was always good at observing. He had to since he was little, he had learned to be vigilant around his father. 

Her smile won out and his big black eyes blinked suddenly astonished at how bright it was. 

“Hi, my name is Lily. I turned four yesterday.” She tilted her head toward him, “Your magic is very comforting. It reminds me of...hmm…” She closed her eyes again and focused, “Hot chocolate but the really good kind with dark chocolate with a little bit of cinnamon on top.” She smiled and giggled, “Now I’m craving hot chocolate.” 

The girl named Lily sat up carefully as if she was already aware that he didn’t like fast movements and his eyes narrowed before they drifted back to her hair that was almost semi-floating in the air because of her magic. 

“My mum’s hair used to be like that.” He remembered briefly a time when his memories were fuzzy that his father didn’t drink as much and his mother’s hair was down to her waist soaked in her own kind of dark but vibrant magic. 

“What’s your name?” 

He shook his head and his eyes re-focused on the girl who was now braiding her hair, something that seemed strange for someone their age.

“Severus.” 

However, like a typical four year old kid she tilted her head the other way, “I want to be your friend.” 

“Why?” He looked at her, his black eyes narrowed and already he was drawing back from her. 

She shrugged, “Just because. I think you and I would make a great team.” 

He crossed his hands over his chest and looked sullenly at her. 

“What do I get?”

“Great friendship, fun adventures and epic magic.” She seemed to smile encouragingly at him and smiled wider as she saw his lips twitch as he fought a smile. 

Severus supposed it wouldn’t be that bad to be ‘friends’ with the strange girl that seemed to radiate sunshine. 


	6. An Awakening

Eileen Snape nee Prince was a healer in need of healing. The day her son turned four she received a visit from a figure she never believed to see on her doorstep and who changed everything.

A little bit day by day as she saw her husband would no longer provide a threat, she tried to tell herself she could start to relax. But she was suspicious by nature, even more so after years of abuse.

Then there was the girl. The strange girl Lord Slytherin knew of, who at first appearance seemed to be muggleborn. 

Her eyes looked like the killing curse and her hair was like flames. She held no resemblance at all to Lord Slytherin, which seemed to shatter the suspicion that she may be his child. 

The only similarity they held was their otherness. 

Nothing seemed to prove this more until the first time she spent the night at their home. Her parents were called out of town suddenly, and allowed her to spend the time with the Snapes. Joanne and Eileen had met on occasion at the park while their children played. The Evans were a trusting sort, too trusting in Eileen’s opinion but it wasn’t her place to change them. 

However, the night the girl spent the night was the night when the Veil was the thinnest. 

Eileen barely caught the two four year olds sneaking out the back door at midnight after a long day of housework. 

Her little one’s face was already looking guilty, his eyebrows drawn down. However, the little girl looked straight into her eyes, virident eyes aglow. 

“Could you take us into the woods to see the fairy rings?” 

Severus’s head turned to view his mother, and she could feel his wide eyed gaze as she took off her apron and put in on the hook by the door. 

“Do you know the rules of the fae folk, child?”   
  


The girl nodded, “Never give them your birth name. Do not say anything that would give them a favor, so no ‘sorry’ or ‘thank yous’. However, always remain polite and never lie.” 

Eileen could feel her lips twitch in approval, “Indeed and what happens if a fairy asks for your name?”

“You can give them an equivalent, like I could ask them to call me Blossom or Flower. You could be Star, Sev could be Stern.” 

A fraction of a smile broke through Eileen’s cracked lips, “If we are to go, you both are to stay in my sight at all times. Never go off with a fae, no matter what they offer you.” 

“Of course.” “Yes, mother” The children chimed.

\---

It was a sight to behold. 

At first the fairy ring was silent. The lumos reflected off the pale toadstools but no fairy wings fluttered and no little people weaved in between them. 

Then the child began to sing. It wasn’t a familiar celtic melody, however soon the lumos wasn’t needed as the child’s magic began to warm the space around the ring and with it the offering was accepted. 

{song similar to The Sky & The Dawn & The Sun} 

A hum came from the center of the ring and from it flooded little balls of light, some growing larger while others staying small and sitting themselves upon the toadstools. 

The girl didn’t look wixen, she looked like she belonged on the other side of the Veil where all the fae lived. Her skin glittered and her eyes glowed. All she was missing was a pair of glittering wings upon her back. 

“Mother?” 

Eileen looked down at her son who was staring in wonder at the sight before him, his dark features reflecting the light off the magic before him. He tilted his head up to her and his eyes sparkled. 

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know, my little prince.” 

His little cheeks pinked with her old name for him, she hadn’t called him that in a long while.

“However, my dear one, things are never as they seem.” 


	7. Identity Crisis

Lily Luna felt as if she was soaring, in fact she felt as if she might be a little tipsy. It was an odd feeling since somewhere in her mind she knew she was still in a much too young body for that. 

The magic swirling around her was intoxicating though, it seemed to seep into her pores in a way she hadn’t expected. She had read before about theories of the Veil and she knew of fairy laws and rules, and yet as she felt them all dance around her they didn’t feel foreign to her. They felt...familiar. Familiar in the way that The Portals bookshop felt familiar. It was odd. 

Something tickled her subconscious, like a forgotten melody that tried to come back through the tapping of fingers against a surface or toes against the ground. Her mother’s voice from before she was Lily Evans of the now drifted into her ears, “Things are not always as they seem, my dear ones.” Her father’s voice picked up after her, “One day you’ll remember, just know our love…” Her mind went fuzzy again as the singing of the fairies around her picked up again and she was swept up into the flurry. 

As she danced, she tried to remember what it was she was trying to remember. 

A gasp from behind her was the only warning that was given as more fairies came from the portal, these were more edges that rounded balls of light. Dark, sharp, dangerous and yet no less beautiful. 

“Lil...Blossom be careful.” Lily barely turned her head toward the words spoken before one dark one caught her eye. 

Something about the fae standing before her more familiar than the rest. 

The music seemed muffled and the lights seemed to dance on the edges of her vision as she walked toward him. 

“Who…” He put a finger to his lips, his grin sharp. His features still hidden within shadow.

“Who are you?” His whisper was soft and dark. The world seemed to change around her, she blinked and it was just them. It had always just been them, hadn’t it? In a wide field, she had been so lonely before he had come. 

She tilted her head to the side, “They call me Light.” 

“Hello, Light.” His whisper was still so gentle, and then she blinked. The field was gone. They were back in the woods, the glow of the fairies and full moon the only thing lightening their features. 

He was already walking away though, he wasn’t going back into the ring. 

Lily shook her head and chased after the figure even as she heard voices calling her nickname for the night after her. 

“Are you...Dark?” It was there just in the boundaries of her mind. 

_ Dark. Light. _

The shadow stopped and turned his head, his features not visible in the darkness. 

“One day, you will remember.” 

Before she blinked, he vanished once more. Her mind’s fog clearing only made her all the more confused as the fae’s voice registered for it was familiar to her in more than a few ways. Lily sank to her knees. 

\---

Lily allowed herself to be dragged by the hand back to the Snapes’ house, her mind a jumble of thoughts, none of them made sense. 

She barely registered as she sat upon a chair before Severus’s mother was kneeling before her chair. 

“What did I say about going with a fae?”   
  


Lily shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the fog. 

Her eyes wide as she stared at Eileen then glanced up over where Severus stood looking frightened in the doorway. 

“Who am I?” 

Eileen sucked in a deep breath, “What have you done child?”

Lily shook her head again and put her head on her hands. Her mind still foggy from the magic of the night, but as her thoughts cleared her mind only became more confused. 

“I’m Lily Evans.” Lily spoke the first sentence with semi-confidence, but the next came in a lower voice, “Here and then, but…” she looked into the adult’s eyes that sat before her and realized how truly out of depth she was. A choked sob escaped from her, “I’m so lost. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. Am I supposed to change certain things? Can I simply live as I am? But if I could then why…” 

Calloused hands with a gentle touch pried Lily’s fingers from her hair and face, “Take deep breaths child.” 

Lily followed Severus’s mother’s example and took deep breaths, soon her pulse slowed. 

“Now slowly child…”

“I am…” Lily took a deep breath, her eyes shifting between the other child and the mother in the room worriedly. “I am not what I seem.” 

Severus’s mother let out a wry chuckle, “Yes, I expected as much.” 

“I feel as if...magic has made me be more than one person. I don’t know who I need to be, or who I actually am.” Lily looked down, “I know things. I should be afraid of certain people but instead my magic feels safe with them. Then tonight, tonight I recognized him but I didn’t...I don’t know.” 

Lily’s eyes widened as she was wrapped in the thin arms of the usually stern faced woman who had been kneeling before her, only to see Severus’s surprised gaze across the way as well. 

“Live child one day at a time.” 

Eileen’s words would become a mantra in future years to come. 


End file.
